


Confundo

by Dagron



Category: Brave (2012), Frozen (2013), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Exolvo, F/F, Feels, Gen, snowsisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 00:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15763302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dagron/pseuds/Dagron
Summary: Elsa, of house Slytherin, finds it hard to find some place quiet to practice her magic at times, especially when Draco keeps mentioning her sister. But a session practising by Hogwart's Whomping Willow provides her with an unexpectedly pleasant first encounter.[Exolvo Verse]





	Confundo

Elsa doesn't really interact with students from the other Hogwarts houses. It's not that she's bought into the whole idea that being a Slytherin, she is in some way better than them... No matter what the whispers behind her back are, she can never bring herself to think that she is better than anyone... She's... She is not going to think about what she is right now.  
  
Her gloves crackle as she shifts her grip on her wand, practicing the motion the Charms teacher had shown them that morning. She grimaces upon feeling the tell-tale sign of her ice magic flaring up. She pauses, takes a deep breath, and schools her features back into her default emotionless façade.   
  
It isn't like her reputation is any better among the Slytherin students. Ice Queen, they call her, unaware of how much the name stings. She doesn't think they know about her powers, but it makes it hard to tell. Her paranoia flares up around those she's heard call her that, and it takes all her willpower not to react, not to run and hide and cry whenever they mock her. She must ignore them, she must keep her chin up and glare over their heads. She reminds the ice swirling in her fists that they are just children.   
  
Still, every now and then she needs to get away from it. There's only so much one can take of Malfoy's jeers before they snap, and unlike Potter, Elsa really can't afford to lose her rag with Draco.   
  
That's how she finds herself practicing her wand craft out on the grounds. It's not ideal. Being outdoors always stirs the urge in her heart to just let go, to let her magic loose as she would as a small girl, creating wintry wonderlands that one can play in. But she can't. It's not safe. It will never be safe. Sadly, Malfoy rendered the Slytherin Dungeon an impractical place to practice, and the Library was no longer an option as soon as Elsa noticed Harry Potter and his gang there. Not that she minded them particularly, but the Gryffindor trio were sure to attract the one redhead Elsa was adamant she needed to avoid. Anna would often shadow her Weasley friend in hanging out with Harry's lot.   
  
"Anna..." The name slipped from her lips, unbidden, with a sigh. Her shoulders slumping, Elsa's wrist goes limp and she sits down on the ground. Her heart hurts.  
  
Malfoy's digs today had particularly made fun of how the Ice Queen doesn't even give the time of day to her own family.   
  
Gritting her teeth, it's hard for Elsa to tell how she feels about it all... Unhappy, for sure. Annoyed doesn't quite cut it. Sad doesn't do the feeling enough justice. Frustration is about all she can label the feeling with without it feeling wrong.  
  
She thought being a Slytherin would be enough to distance herself from her sister once she started Hogwarts. Anna had clearly taken that as a challenge rather than a deterrent once she had. The younger Arendelle quickly garnered herself a reputation as a gregarious Gryffindor, keen to make friends in any house. She even managed to befriend the grouchy Ravenclaw that Elsa sometimes hears playing a small lute. Considering Elsa's observations of Kristoff Bjorgman, that is quite a feat.   
  
What particularly worries Elsa though, are the rumours that Anna is hanging out with Westergard. Hans, of the year above, doesn't have a bad reputation per say, but it never took Elsa long to feel that his syrupy mannerisms and shallow advice hid a much darker beast.  
  
Though it could just be that she's projecting, if ever he were to hurt Anna...  
  
Elsa hugs her knees, tries not to care that the rime forming in her gloves is slowly escaping up her wrists. Deep breaths, Elsa reminds herself.  
  
She stares out into the distance, watching the autumn sun sparkle on the lake, the waving leaves of green trees turning gold and burgundy. She listens to the wind, humming through the branches of the Whomping Willow behind her. She can smell the wet earth at her feet, the smoke from the bonfire the groundskeeper uses to clear away some of the excess leaves.   
  
A twig cracks, and Elsa whirls her head around.  
  
"Ach. Sorry. I didnae see ye there."   
  
Elsa's breath hitches upon seeing the other student. Instinct took over. There's a crackling at her feet. Elsa doesn't look down to confirm. She prays it is not enough for the other student to notice. She fights the urge to stand, to leave, just in case.  
  
The branches of the Whomping Willow seem to shift away, the other student smiling sheepishly as she picks up a branch nearby. She seems to be holding another, larger one behind her back. It's hard to tell with her robes fluttering in the wind. The red and gold of her sweater mark her as a Gryffindor, but even without that, Elsa would have known that much. There aren't many redheaded girls with that wild a head of curls. Even though she doesn't know the young girl or her name, she remembers seeing her undergo her sorting at the start of Elsa's second year. She's often a lively figure at the Gryffindor table, waving her arms about wildly as she hollers over to her friends at other tables.   
  
"Right..." The girl awkwardly scratches the back of her head at Elsa's lack of response. She makes to leave, Elsa pre-emptively closing her eyes in relief.   
  
She jerks back when she opens them again to find that the girl is now next to her, bending down towards her.  
"Hey, are ye okay?"  
  
"Ah." Elsa gasps. She suddenly remembers the wand she'd been practicing with, clasping it close to her chest. She forces herself to focus on the feeling of the wood through the leather of her gloves, smooth, hard, predictable. "I'm... I... I'm fine!" She snaps.   
  
The girl's eyes are impossibly round and wide. They're the same blue as the sky. Elsa wishes they weren't so close when the girl laughs.  
  
"Sae ye do have ae tongue!" She stands straight and laughs some more. Elsa feels embarrassment flush her cheeks but straightens her spine. She's a proud Arendelle, no one should laugh at her.  
  
That said, there is something nice about the way the girl laughs.   
  
"Sorry... Ah thought maybe ah'd..." She chuckles some more. She drops the thin branch she just picked up to wipe at her eyes. Elsa suddenly notices the string on the bigger branch now resting against the girl's thigh. "Ah though ah might hae hit ye, and that wis why ye didnae answer."  
  
She talks funny. Standing up, Elsa finally recognised the bow at the girl's side for what it was. She glanced at the fallen stick. It did look like it had been altered into the shape of an arrow.   
  
"You were practicing... archery?" Elsa's embarrassment fades into bewilderment. What witch or wizard learns archery? She reaches out for the dropped arrow and picks it up.   
  
"Aye..." The girl responds. She sits down next to Elsa, not seeming to mind her examination of her arrow. "My Da's a keen archer. Taught me how tae shoot. Ah need tae keep mah skills sharp, sae ah com' oot here."  
  
The girl's accent is thick, Scottish, but there's something soothing about her enthusiasm. She takes back the arrow and shows Elsa her bow. "Thar's nae many places tae practice around Hogwarts."  
  
The bow is engraved. Elsa can see patterns dug into the wood, bear like shapes worked around knots and what's left of the bark being slowly whittled away to make room for more.  
"The teachers let you?" Elsa asks, aware that for all its budding artistry the item is technically a weapon.   
  
"Shh!" The girl hushes her. "Tha' will be oor secret." There's a glint in the girl's eyes, as though she enjoys flaunting the rules. And she's trusting her, the school's Ice Queen, with this information. Elsa is flattered.  
  
Though now there's an awkward silence as the girl takes back her bow and sits quietly, fiddling with the string.  
  
Elsa feels like she ought to introduce herself, ask the girl her name... But she won't, can't. She's not in the habit of opening up to others. Elsa stares down at her hands in her lap, trying to remember why she's got her wand out again.  
  
"Sae..." The girl whispers in her ear, nearly making her jump. "Whit ye doing oot here? A lassie with yer grades, ah didnae picture ye as an outdoorsy sort..."  
  
"I'm..." Elsa was away to say she's not the outdoorsy sort, but she pauses. It's not that she doesn't like the outdoors. Even now, as she's sat, embarrassed, next to the wild girl from the year below, she can feel the fresh air stirring something in her heart. The grass she's sat on, the view of the loch and hills surrounding them. It's all beautiful, and she wishes... she wishes she... "I was practicing charms... I... I like the peace and quiet here."  
  
"Eh! Ah'm sorry tae interrupt then." The girl stands up, smiling warmly. She gives Elsa a wave. "Ah'll see ye around, Arendelle."   
  
Elsa's heart skips a beat. She didn't realise the girl knew her name. Of course, she did. Why wouldn't she when Draco's cronies make sure to spread as many rumours about her as they can? Just...  
  
"Bye..." Elsa says, quietly. The girl is already cresting the small slope, skulking towards the forbidden forest. She hears the groundskeeper, Hagrid, give a shout. The girl yelps and makes a run for it. Elsa shakes her head and smiles.  
  
There's a warmth to her cheeks as she turns back to the loch. This time, when she tries the gesture, she gets it right first time.   
  
She never got the girl's name. She'll be sure to keep an eye out for her though. She seems nice.

**Author's Note:**

> One day I'll get around to continuing my Exolvo-verse fics... One day!


End file.
